The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami “But even so, every now and then I would feel a violent stab of loneliness. The very water I drink, the very air I breathe, would feel like long, sharp needles. The pages of a book in my hands would take on the threatening metallic gleam of razor blades. I could hear the roots of loneliness creeping through me when the world was hushed at four o'clock in the morning.”Haruki Murakami is a bit of a genius in my opinion. His view of the world seems to be that there are secret pockets that you go into to get to another realm (a split from reality as we know it). Every character he ever writes about questions their point and purpose. I love the detail he uses especially when discussing cooking or music. When you read a Murakami book it's like you're reading five different books at once and they're all great. If you want a book that will give you a literary workout, you've found it. Believe the hype! It's a beautiful book (And don't let the fact shit bands like Radiohead are massive fans of this author put you off)